From retired pro golfer to mechanic and back to golf, Coloradan Zahkai Brown opens with solid 71 despite sometimes ‘brutal’ wind at The Ascendant; ex-AFA golfer Tom Whitney, who didn’t complete his first round, tied for lead after day 1
By Gary Baines – 7/10/2025
BERTHOUD — Thursday’s first round of The Ascendant presented by Blue took roughly 10 hours to complete — at least for the threesome that featured Coloradans Zahkai Brown and Brayden Forte, and former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park.
But for Brown, even with lightning — and strong winds and some rain — prolonging rounds for well over four hours at TPC Colorado, the wait was worth it.
The 2013 Colorado Open champion, who calls Golden home nowadays, shot a 1-under-par 71 on Thursday, which may be pedestrian by tour golf standards, but was pretty impressive on a day that the wind gusted to more than 30 mph at times. Brown shares 41st place after a weather-interrupted day 1.
“I felt like I played solid for not really hitting it that well,” he said. “Everything was just average — ball striking, chipping, putting. I shot 2 under on the front, which I felt was solid. But that final weather delay, coming back out the wind was brutal, so finishing at 1 under is not too bad given the weather.”
Especially not for a guy who basically retired from competitive golf in September of 2023 — or at least that was the plan.
Brown, the 2011 CGA Player of the Year and a former Colorado State University golfer, originally took a job as a mechanic working on vehicles 12 hours a day after hanging up the sticks.
But “I wasn’t enjoying it. It was long and grueling and (customers) are really ungrateful,” he said. “I told my wife I’m not happy. I said I’m going to go back into golf — I didn’t know if I’d play or teach or work in it.”
He ended up calling Nick Mertz, co-owner and co-founder of Pins & Aces, a Denver area-based company that sells popular golf gear — and has since its founding in 2018. Brown asked Mertz for a job and started working in receiving and inventory management at Pins & Aces this past spring. The idea was to work for the company while getting his game ready for tour Q-school later in the year.
Pins & Aces had a fee-free spot to give away in last Saturday’s sponsor-exemption tournament, and Mertz allotted it to Brown, who subsequently shot an 8-under-par 64 at TPC Colorado to earn the lone berth available in the open division of that event.
That 64 gave Brown his 15th start in a Korn Ferry Tour event — but first since 2023. And with that start, Brown shot his 71 on Thursday, making three birdies and two bogeys on the day — with Mertz caddying for him, by the way. (Mertz and his dad, Guy, won the CGA Parent-Child title in 2018.)
Making the story even more notable is that Brown had hip and hernia surgery in February, and just started playing again in May. He’s competed in a couple of small regional events — placing fifth twice — and now he’s competing in The Ascendant, where there’s a $180,000 first prize. It’s essentially just his fourth tournament — following the 2024 Inspirato Colorado Open and the two regional events — since September 2023.
“I just have more of a grateful attitude, I’d say, because I wasn’t even going to play anymore,” Brown said on Thursday. “I kind of got down, and I had the surgery. I was like, ‘I’ve got to go back (and compete) if I can.’ So my attitude is just grateful. Whatever happens — a 64 or 80 or whatever — I’m just excited to be out here.”
Brown will turn 35 years old on Sunday, and has a great gift in mind for himself.
“I’ll try to get a ‘W’ for my birthday; that would be great,” he said. “I feel like my game is good, so if we get some decent weather, I can shoot that (64) number again.”
17-year-old amateur Brayden Forte, who shot 77 on Thursday, tries to coax in a putt.
As for Brown’s playing partners on Wednesday, Park opened with a 1-over-par 73 in a steady round that featured one birdies and two bogeys, while the 17-year-old Forte posted a 77.
Forte, an Aurora resident who won the 2025 CGA State Junior and then qualified for The Ascendant by shooting a 64 last Saturday at TPC Colorado in the sponsor-exemption tournament, is one of just two amateurs in the field this week. He started and ended his Thursday round with double bogeys, but in between held his own by going 1 over for those other 16 holes.
Former CCU golfer Sangha Park opened with a 73.
Tom Whitney Shares Lead at 5 Under Par: On a day when the conditions included lightning, rain and wind — with some calm mixed in for a while — five players ended up at 5 under par on day 1 as only half the field completed the first round. Two separate afternoon interruptions due to lightning — totaling roughly 4 hours and 15 minutes — kept any of the afternoon-wave golfers from finishing 18 holes.
When the sun set and play concluded at 8:29 p.m., among the five leaders was former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney, who made six birdies through the 12 holes he played, along with a bogey.
Michael Johnson shares the lead at 67.
Three of the players completed rounds of 5-under 67 — Ross Steelman of Columbia, Mo., Michael Johnson of Birmingham, Ala., and Ian Holt of Stow, Ohio. Joining Whitney at 5 under still out of the course was Pierceson Coody, who is through 14 holes.
Those golfers who didn’t complete round 1 on Thursday will resume play at 6:45 a.m. on Friday.
For the record, play on Thursday was stopped by lightning in the area at 12:04 p.m., resumed at 2:35 p.m., stopped at 4:05, and resumed at 5:48.
Cheyenne native Josh Creel carded a 2-under-par 70 in round 1.
Here are the scores for players with significant Colorado and area ties competing in The Ascendant:
T1. Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney -5 through 12 holes
24. Cheyenne native Josh Creel 70
41. Zahkai Brown of Golden 71
86. Former Littleton resident Chris Korte 73
86. Former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park 73
86. Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland +1 through 10 holes
86. Connor Jones of Westminster +1 through 5 holes
147. Amateur Brayden Forte of Aurora 77
Coloradan Chris Korte posted a 73 on Thursday.
For all the scores from The Ascendant, CLICK HERE.
Headed for The Show: Three players in The Ascendant field have almost certainly locked up their 2026 PGA Tour cards with three months left to go in the Korn Ferry Tour season. Austin Smotherman, winner of two KFT tournaments this season, has already secured his PGA Tour status for next season as he’s racked up 1,641 points in the season-long standings. Johnny Keefer (1,393) and Hank Lebioda (1,340) are the others. (S.H. Kim, with 1,301 points is also a near sure thing, but he withdrew from The Ascendant over the weekend.) Keefer, Lebioda and Kim all have won once this year on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Smotherman and Lebioda are no strangers to the PGA Tour, having played in 77 and 120 events at that level, respectively. Both are 31 years old. Keefer, a 24-year-old who will be a PGA Tour rookie, finished 61st in this year’s U.S. Open.
Austin Smotherman, the top player on the Korn Ferry Tour point standings.
As for how Smotherman, Keefer and Lebioda fared on Thursday at TPC Colorado, Smotherman recorded a 69, Lebioda a 72, and Keefer is 2 under through 14 holes.
The top 20 in the points standings after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship — set for Oct. 9-12 in French Lick, Ind. — will earn PGA Tour cards for next season.
Last year, the No. 20 player in the Korn Ferry Tour season-long points standings finished with 1,019 points.
No Small Feat: Ross Steelman, who finished with a 67 on Thursday, managed to hit his ball on the fringe — just past pin high — in two on the 762-yard 13th hole at TPC Colorado. For his second shot, he had about 340 yards to the front edge of the green — with about a 10 mph wind at his back — and used a mini driver to reach the putting surface after his ball hit just short of the green.
“That was pretty fun,” he said. “Usually I’m trying to … have like 100 yards to the front (for a third shot). Me and my caddie were talking about it (and) I was not expecting to be going at this green. I’ve never even considered it.”
Steelman two-putted for birdie there.
The wind on Thursday wreaked havoc with some shots at TPC Colorado.
High Praise: Steelman is only competing in his second Ascendant, and just got in two rounds last year as he missed the cut — but in that short time, he’s take a shine to TPC Colorado.
“The course is awesome,” he said Thursday. “It’s a real test of golf, much more similar to what you see on the PGA Tour than a lot of the courses we play out here on this tour. You have to hit shots. You can’t just rip a driver and flick wedges into everything.
“The par-3s are good. A couple of the par-5s you need to think about where you’re hitting it into the green. There’s big runoffs. There’s tight fairways around the greens. There’s just a little more thought that goes into it than at a typical week out here, which I enjoy. It’s a little different test than what we’re typically presented with, which is fun.”
Gone With the Wind: Holes 17 and 18 at TPC Colorado sit side by side and are largely parallel to one another, which means the wind direction is normally the opposite while playing the two.
But on Thursday, the wind direction switched quickly enough that Michael Johnson, one of the players who shot 67, played both holes downwind. And he ended up hitting wedges for his approach shots on both, which is no small matter given that 17 measured 490 yards and 18 520.
“We get on 17, I hit downwind, then 30 seconds later into the wind,” he said. “So I got to play 17 and 18 downwind, which is a huge advantage, even though I missed the fairway on both of them. I had wedge into both of them. If you play those holes into the wind, it’s a lot harder.”
Former champion Marty Dou almost ended up with the 18-hole lead on Thursday.
Notable: Marty Dou, one of two winners of KFT events at The Ascendant (along with Nelson Ledesma) who are in the field this week, shared the lead going into the final hole on Thursday, but made double bogey there during a period of peak winds and carded a 4-under-par 68 that featured an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. … Ryan McCormick aced the 234-yard second hole on Thursday and stands at 1 under par through 13 holes.
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2025 Ascendant Presented by Blue: The Essentials
What: The seventh annual Ascendant presented by Blue, a Korn Ferry Tour event.
Where: TPC Colorado in Berthoud.
When: Championship rounds Thursday-Sunday, July 10-13. A Folds of Honor ceremony will be held at hole 18 at the conclusion of Friday play. Fans are encouraged to wear red, white and blue on Folds of Honor Friday.
Course Set-Up: TPC Colorado will be set up at roughly 8,015 yards and play to a par-72. That includes the 773-yard par-5 13th hole.
Tee Times: For round 2 on Friday, CLICK HERE.
Cut: The 156-player field will be cut to the low 65 players and ties after 36 holes.
Trophy Presentation: On 18th green on Sunday, July 13, at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Purse: $1 million, with the winner receiving $180,000.
Junior Activity Area: Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Located between the first green and 14th hole.
Tickets: For ticket information, CLICK HERE. Kids 15 and under admitted free with a ticketed adult. Active-duty U.S. military and retirees — as well as first responders — and their families receive free admission when a valid military ID is presented at a ticket sales window.
Additional Information: For more information regarding The Ascendant presented by Blue, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com